Alfonso XII y María Cristina: ¿Dónde vas triste de ti? (1960) Poster

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6/10
Follow-up to "Where Are You Going, Alfonso XII?" dealing with his second wife , Maria Cristina of Austria
ma-cortes23 December 2015
Romantic semi-biography about king Alfonso XII and his second wife Maria Cristina of Ausburgo . Alfonso XII (Vicente Parra) was King of Spain , reigning from 1874 to 1885 , after a coup d'état restored the monarchy and ended the ephemeral First Spanish Republic . Having been forced into exile after the Glorious Revolution deposed his mother Isabella II (here played by Maria Fernanda Ladron De Guevara and in first part by Mercedes Vecino) from the throne in 1868 , Alfonso studied in France . There he met Maria De Las Mercedes (who played Paquito Rico) and he had a crush on her . María De las Mercedes of Orleans was grand-daughter of king Louis Philippe of France and niece to queen Isabel II of Spain , who was Alfonso XII's mother . Isabel II abdicated in his favour in 1870 , and he returned to Spain as king in 1874 following a military coup carried out by General Martínez Campos who proclaimed in Sagunto , Alfonso XII as King of Spain . Within a few days after Canovas del Castillo (Jose Marco Davo) took power as Premier , the new King , proclaimed on 29 December 1874 , arrived at Madrid , passing through Barcelona and Valencia and was acclaimed everywhere (1875) . Initially led by Canovas del Castillo as moderate prime minister , what was thought at one time as a coup aimed at placing the military in the political-administrative positions of power, in reality ushered in a permanent civilian regime that lasted until the 1931 Second Republic . Cánovas was the real architect of the new regime of the Restoration along with Sagasta for the liberal party . In 1876 Alfonso signs the ¨Constitution of 1876¨ , and carries out a vigorous campaign against the Carlists , in which the young king took part , resulted in the defeat of Don Carlos and the Duke's abandonment of the struggle and he also terminated the Cuba War . After Mercedes's untimely death , aged 18 , King Alfonso married María Cristina of Augsburg-Lorraine, an Austrian princess . They marry , this time without opposition from his mother , queen Isabel . These love stories still live on in the hearts of Spanish people and romantics everywhere . At the end takes place a dramatic finale , as he had been suffering from tuberculosis , but the immediate cause of his death was a recurrence of dysentery . In 1885 , Alfonso died , just short of his 28th birthday, at the Royal Palace of Madrid .

This second part titled ¨Donde Vas Triste De Ti¨ has similar artistic and technician team in which Alfonso married a much more distant relative , Maria Christina of Austria , daughter of Archduke Karl Ferdinand and Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria . This is a historical flick plenty of drama , emotion , romance , luxurious sets and evocative moments . Furthermore , it has an authentic historical background , dealing with Canovas and Sagasta , two real politician leaders . Being based on the successful play by Juan Ignacio Luca de Tena and screenplay by Luis Marquina , concerning about the reign of Alfonso XII who was a very popular king in Spain . The film relies heavily on the love story between Alfonso XII and Maria Cristina until the ultimate wedding celebrated in Cathedral of Almudena , and subsequently their problematic relationship and ordinary records for his former spouse , Maria Mercedes . The movie has also an interest for non-Spanish people because of its similarity with "Sisi" played by Romy Schneider , the Austrian princess who married Kaiser Franz Joseph : Karl Böhm . Royal dramas have the advantage of showing lush gowns and uniforms , kings falling in love with gorgeous women and showing something of the habits and history of the country . Mediocre interpretation from the main cast , usually telling marvelous things about Spain and the Spanish people , as Vicente Parra consolidates his uneven career in his most known role and Marga Lopez gives better acting than Paquito Rico , the previous wife Maria Mercedes , who was usually singing . Actors recite pompous sentences and empty words , including their lost looks . The support cast is pretty good , such as : Tomas Blanco , Rafael Bardem , Marta Padovan , Antonio Escribano , Jose Sepúlveda and Ana Maria Custodio as Duquesa de Montpensier . The main attraction of the film turns out to be the wonderful scenarios by the prestigious production designer Enrique Alarcón , being shot on location in the lush palaces from Royal Palace of Madrid , Palacio De La Granja De San Ildefonso and Palace of Aranjuez . Colorful and glamorous cinematography by the notorious cameraman Jose F Aguayo .

The motion picture produced by Eduardo Manzanos Brochero was professionally directed by an acceptable filmmaker , Alfonso Balcazar ; here this craftsman blends popular as well as historical happenings . It was a hugely successful production , though with no originality ; filmmaker managed to make a fluid and agreeable loving drama , though mediocre . Alfonso alongside his brothers Juan Jose Balcazar and Francisco Balcázar produced and directed all kinds of genres such as , drama : Los Castigadores 1962 , Sueños de Mujer 1962 , La Encrucijada 1960 and Erotic : Inmorales 1974 , Primeras Experiencias 1975 , Deseo 1976 . But Balcazar especially directed a lot of Chorizo or Butifarra Western , most of them starred by Jorge Martin or George Martin , Luis Davila , Daniel Martin or Robert Woods ; such as 1972 The return of Clint , 1972 Judas... ¡Toma Monedas! , 1968 Sartana no Perdone or Sonora , 1967 With Death on Your Back, 1966 Dinamita Jim , 1965 Doc , Manos De Plata , 1965 Viva Carrancho , 1965 Five Thousand Dollars on One Ace .
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